OLYMPICS roundup

TRACK

High school sprinters advance in 200

EUGENE, ORE.

High school sprinters Michael Norman and Noah Lyles won their 200-meter semifinals at U.S. Track and Field Trials to move one race away from the Olympics.

LaShawn Merritt ran the world’s fastest time of the year at the distance, 19.74 seconds, to easily win his semifinal heat Friday. Merritt has already qualified for the 400.

Also in today’s final will be Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay.

On the women’s side, Allyson Felix cruised through her first-round heat at 200 meters to keep her hopes alive for the 200-400 double in Rio.

Among those not going are Dawn Harper-Nelson, who won gold in 2008 and silver in 2012, but failed to make it out of the semifinals of 100-meter hurdles. And American record-holder Keni Harrison finished seventh in the hurdles final.

BOXING

Professionals N’Dam, Ruenroeng qualify

VARGAS, VENEZUELA

Professional boxers Amnat Ruenroeng of Thailand and Hassan N’Dam of Cameroon have won spots at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics despite losing in the final qualifying tournament in Venezuela.

Ruenroeng and N’Dam both advanced far enough in the tournament to qualify for Rio even with losses in Friday’s bouts.

They are the only prominent boxers who took advantage of AIBA’s controversial decision to allow pros to compete for spots in Rio.

The 36-year-old Ruenroeng was stopped in the second round of his lightweight bout against Mexico’s Lindolfo Delgado. Ruenroeng also fought at the Beijing Games.

N’Dam lost a unanimous decision to Colombia’s Juan Carlos Carrillo, 24, who knocked out two previous opponents in Venezuela. The 32-year-old N’Dam competed in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

BASKETBALL

Italy, Serbia win big in qualifying games

Italy and Serbia cruised into the championship games of Olympic Qualifying Tournaments on Friday, moving a win away from a place in the basketball field in Rio.

Danilo Gallinari of the Denver Nuggets scored 15 points as the Italians beat Mexico 79-54 in Turin. They will face Croatia, which knocked off Greece, in today’s final.

Italy hasn’t reached the Olympics since winning a silver medal in 2004.

Bogdan Bogdanovic had 21 points and eight rebounds, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic added 19 points and eight boards, and Serbia routed the Czech Republic 96-72.

The Serbians, who won a silver medal two years ago in the Basketball World Cup, will host Puerto Rico today in Belgrade.

The three qualifying tournaments are determining the final three spots in the Olympics. The semifinals in Manila, Philippines, are Saturday, when France meets Turkey and Canada plays New Zealand.

Gymnastics

Locklear looks strong on uneven bars

SAN JOSE, CALIF.

Ashton Locklear is providing a pretty compelling case to make the U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team. The 18-year-old posted a score of 15.750 on uneven bars during the first night of Olympic Trials on Friday night.

Locklear’s best bet is to make the team as an uneven bars specialist. She’s in a fight with Madison Kocian and Maggie Nichols among others to make the five-woman team when it is announced on Sunday night.

Locklear put her focus on uneven bars and balance beam two years ago after fracturing a vertebrae in her lower back, making floor exercise and vault too taxing.

Associated Press